Chapter 6: The Woman Who Knew Too Much
I couldn’t move.
Inside Dante Rosselli’s house.
The place surrounded by guards.
The place where nobody entered without permission.
Someone had been there.
Watching.
Waiting.
“How?”” I asked.
Dante didn’t respond.
He was already walking toward the security room.
I followed.
“You can’t just leave me standing here.””
He stopped.
“Alina.””
The seriousness in his voice made me stop.
“You need to understand something.””
“What?””
“Everyone around me is dangerous.””
I looked at him.
“Then why bring me here?””
His expression softened slightly.
“Because the only safer place for you is the place where I can see you.””
That answer should have scared me.
Instead, it made me feel strangely protected.
And I hated that.
Because trusting Dante Rosselli felt like trusting a storm.
You knew it could destroy you.
But you also knew it was the only thing standing between you and something worse.
The security room was filled with monitors.
A guard stood in front of the screens.
“Boss.””
Dante looked at him.
“Show me.””
The guard pressed a button.
The footage appeared.
A woman walking through the hallway.
My eyes narrowed.
I knew that face.
“No.””
Dante looked at me.
“You know her?””
I stepped closer.
“That’s impossible.””
The woman in the video was someone I had seen every week for the last two years.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who brought me coffee during late shifts.
Someone who listened when I talked about my mother.
“It can’t be her.””
Dante’s voice was quiet.
“Who is she?””
I stared at the screen.
My mouth went dry.
“Sofia.””
The waitress from L’Orso D’Oro.
My friend.
The person who knew everything about my life.
The footage showed Sofia entering Dante’s home.
Not breaking in.
Not hiding.
Walking inside like she belonged there.
A guard zoomed in.
She was carrying something.
A small envelope.
Dante watched silently.
“What was she doing here?””
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.””
But deep down, a terrible feeling was growing.
Because suddenly, memories started changing.
Sofia asking about my mother.
Sofia asking where I lived.
Sofia asking if I had any family.
Questions I thought were friendly.
Maybe they weren’t.
Dante noticed my expression.
“You’re remembering something.””
I looked at him.
“She always asked about my mother.””
The room went silent.
Then Dante turned back to the screen.
“Find her.””
The guards moved immediately.
But before they could leave, another alarm sounded.
Everyone froze.
A guard checked his phone.
“Boss…”
Dante looked over.
“What now?””
The guard’s face was pale.
“We found Sofia.””
“Where?””
He hesitated.
Then:
“Outside the city.””
Dante stepped closer.
“Alive?””
The guard looked at me.
“No.””
My heart dropped.
“What?””
The guard swallowed.
“But she left something behind.””
Dante took the item.
A small envelope.
The same kind from the security footage.
He opened it slowly.
Inside was a single photograph.
Dante looked at it first.
Then his eyes moved to me.
And for the first time since I met him…
I saw real fear.
“What is it?””
He handed me the picture.
My fingers shook as I took it.
Because it was a photograph of my mother.
Holding me as a baby.
Standing beside Dante.
And beside them was another person.
A person I had never seen before.
May you like
But the note written beneath the photo made my blood run cold.
*The truth about Alina’s father is finally ready to be revealed.*
